La Minerve HMS

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La Minerve HMS

Post by shipstamps » Tue Sep 09, 2008 2:49 pm

HMS LA MINERVE 5th rate 38guns was originally a French Frigate captured by HMS DIDO and LOWESTOFT on the 24th June 1795 in the Gulf of Lyons. She was
named after the Roman Goddess of Warriors and poetry. On the 10th December 1796 Commodore Nelson flew his broad pennant aboard her and under orders from Admiral Jervis sailed for the Mediterranean with HMS BLANCHE to complete the evacuation of Corsica and the garrison at Elba.
On route on the night of 19th December 1796 they came across two Spanish Frigates CERES and SANTA SABINA.
Nelson ordered attack, and a fierce fight ensued; there were few casualties on La Minerve, but some 150 of the crew of SANTA SABINA were killed or wounded. Her Captain Don Jacobo Stuart [grandson of King James 1st] came aboard La Minerve and surrendered his sword. Lieutenants Hardy and Culverhouse were put aboard Santa Sabina with 40 sailors as prize crew. Next morning Spanish reinforcements arrived and Nelson had to leave behind the ship and her prize crew, Nelson arranged an exchange of prisoners and his men were returned to La Minerve. Following this Nelson found the Spanish Fleet and was able to rejoin Jervis with vital information. This information formed the basis of Jervis' victory at Cape St Vincent. Nelson moved his pennant from La Minerve into HMS CAPTAIN and was in that vessel at St Vincent. La Minerve took part in blockade duty off the French coast and unfortunately in July 1803 she ran aground off Cherbourg where she was captured by two French warships.
In 1810, as a merchant ship she was recaptured by HMS VALIANT and sold.
She was not retaken into the Royal Navy.
Details from Ted Evans, Liverpool.
Gibraltar SG
Attachments
La Minerve.jpg

aukepalmhof
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Joined: Thu Apr 02, 2009 1:28 am

Re: Minerve HMS

Post by aukepalmhof » Thu Apr 15, 2010 9:20 pm

.She was built as a frigate at Toulon for the French Navy.
January 1792 laid down.
05 September 1794 launched as La MINERVE.
Tonnage 700 ton, dim. 48.4 x 12.2 x 5.6m.
Armament under French flag 18 – 18pdrs, 8 – 7pdrs, later 28 – 18pdrs, 32 – 14 pdr. carronades and 6 – 6pdrs.
October 1794 commissioned.

March 1795 she took part in the battle off Noli, Italy.
24 June 1795 the La MINERVE and ART MISE were on a reconnoitre cruise looking for the British fleet, when she sighted two British frigates the HMS DIDO and LOWESTOFF, first the two French frigates wore and stood away, but then perceiving their superiority, turned towards the two British vessels that were pursuing them.
La MINERVE opened fire on DIDO at half past eight from a range of about a mile; Dido replied 15 minutes later when the French ship was on her weather beam.
La MINERVE then bore down on DIDO with the intention of sinking her, just as the Frenchman’s jib-boom was touching her main-yard, DIDO bore-up also and was hit on the larboard quarter by La MINERVE’s bow, swung round and ended up athwart latter’s hawse.
Some Frenchmen climbing along the bowsprit which was entangled in DIDO’s mizzen rigging but went overboard and were lost when the bowsprit snapped, taking the mizzen-mast, and DIDO’s colours with it.
LOWESTOFF came up to help and she shot away La MINERVE’s fore-mast and remaining top-mast before being ordered to chase ART MISE which escaped.
When they saw on board the DIDO that the LOWESTOFF not could catch the ART MISE she was recalled and to renew her attack on the La MINERVE.
La MINERVE struck her colours quarter to twelve, when she had 20 men killed and wounded.

June 1795 commissioned in the Royal Navy under command of Capt. George Henry Tower, as a 5th Rate frigate HMS MINERVE.
Details under British flag:
Tonnage 1.101 tons (bm). Dim. 154.4½ x 39.11 x13.01ft, length of deck 130.0ft., draught 13ft.
Armament: 28 – 18pdrs. upper deck, 8 – 9 pdrs. quarter deck and 6 – 32 carronades, 2 – 9pdrs. and 2 – 32pdr. carronades on forecastle.
Crew 300.

First stationed in the Mediterranean.
August 1795 paid off at Portsmouth and recommissioned the same month, still under command of Tower.
April 1796 under command of Capt. Charles Ogle who was relieved in August 1796 by Capt. George Cockburn.
10 December 1796 Commodore Horatio Nelson hoisted his broad pennant on her in the Mediterranean.
On 19 December MINERVE and BLANCHE fell in with two Spanish frigates off Cartagena. MINERVE engaged the SABINA (40-guns) under command of Don Jacob Steuart (the great-grandson of James II of England) which struck after two and three quarters hours, during which she had lost her mizzen-mast.
MINERVE lost 7 men killed and wounded according to Nelson, the Spanish put the figure at 10 killed and 45 wounded, two mortally.
Lieutenants Thomas Hardy and John Culverhouse were put on board with 40 men and the MONERVE took the prize in tow only to cast her off whilst the second Spaniard MATILDA (34-guns) was engaged and driven off after half an hour with the loss of 10 wounded. The approach of a Spanish squadron meant that MINERVE had to look to her own safety and the two lieutenants deliberately drew attention to themselves by hoisting English over Spanish colours but when their masts fell they were obliged to surrender.

23 December she took the Spanish privateer La MONICA off Sardinia.
27 December MINERVE reached Porto Ferrajo and she was repaired there
29 January 1797 Sir Gilbert Elliot, late Viceroy of Corsica, and other officials embarked and MINERVE the squadron and the transports sailed for Gibraltar.
Off the Straits (of Gibraltar) MINERVE was chased by two Spanish ships-of-the-line, part of a straggling Spanish fleet which had left Cartagena for Cadiz. She escaped them and arrived in Gibraltar on the 10th of February where Lieutenants Culverhouse and Hardy having been previously exchanged, were able to rejoin MINERVE.
11 February she passed through the Spanish fleet unseen thank to heavy fog.
The 13th. Nelson brought Admiral Sir John Jervis off Cape St. Vincent, the first news that the Spaniards were at sea. Nelson shifted his flag back to HMS Captain and on the 14th, Jervis fought the “Battle of St Vincent” on 14 February 1797.
MINERVA took part in the pursuit of SANTISIMA TRINIDAD, together with the EMERALD, NIGER, BONNE CITOYENNE and the sloop RAVEN, the Spanish four-decker was disabled and towed by a frigate. They sighted the SANTISIMA TRINIDAD on the 20th in a position some 80 miles S.S.E of Cape St Vincent, but Capt Berkley of EMERALD kept his ships on a northerly course and did not engage and soon she lost sight of SANTISIMA TRINIDAD. The affair is still unexplained, Berkeley resigned his command shortly afterwards.
On 28 May 1797 MINERVE and LIVELY discovered a French brig lying close inshore in the road of Santa Cruz and their boats under Lieutenant Hardy were ordered into the bay to cut her out. She was boarded and carried under a heavy fire of musketry from the brig and artillery from the shore. British losses were 15 wounded. The prize was La MUTINE with 12 long 6-pouders and 2 brass 36-pounder carronades.
Hardy was promoted and given command of HMS MUTINE when she was taken into the Royal Navy.
21 September 1798 took the 14-gun privateer La FURET when stationed on the Lisbon station.
02 March 1800 took the 20-gun privateer La MANCHA on the Spanish coast, plus Spanish privateer NUESTRA SEÑORA DEL CARMEN.
April 1800 together with NETLEY she took the 15-gun privateer Le VENGEANCE in the Mediterranean.

In May 1800 three French frigates blockaded Porto Ferrajo on the island of Elba, two of them were driven off in August and took refuge in Livorno but they were ordered out to attempt to capture a single British frigate, PHOENIX at anchor off Piombino, later joined by POMONE. As they set out the French were chased by MINERVE which signalled to PHOENIX and POMONE which joined in the chase. One frigate Le SUCCES, ran herself ashore and struck (15 May), the other, La BRAVOURE, grounded off Livorno and was wrecked. Le SUCCES formally the British HMS SUCCESS, was returned to the Royal Navy.

On 16 September 1800, in company with HMS DORIS, she captured the Spanish packet EL REY CARLOS loaded with sugar, indigo and cochineal.
The French merchant brig VICTORIEUX, with cotton, coffee and sugar from Cayenne was taken on the 26th. and two days later she captured the French letter of marquee ACTIVE off Cape Finisterre, which was bound for Bordeaux with a cargo of sugar and coffee from Guadeloupe.

1801 A French squadron of seven ships-of-the-line, three frigates and three merchantmen sailed from Toulon on 15 March, apparently making for Egypt. They lost touch with one of the merchantmen in a gale and she was taken by MINERVE.

Towards the end of 1801 MINERVE returned to England with the flag of Sir John Warren.
1802 Paid off. And recommissioned in October 1802 under Capt. Jahleel Brenton.

03 July 1803 Under Capt Brenton and due to a pilot error she stranded during thick fog on the westernmost point of the Cones of Cherbourg.
Two French brigs the La CHIFFONE and Le RERRIBLE approached and opened fire while Capt Brenton desperately tried to refloat her, and when he succeeded it was only to find the tide carrying her into Cherbourg harbour where she was forced to surrender. Capt. Brenton was detained for two and a half years while the rest of the crew for 11 years in France.

The MINERVE was renamed in August 1803 in La CANNONIÉRE and taken into the French navy.
1806 Based at the Ile de France (now Mauritius).
21 April 1806 in action against HMS TREMENDOUS off the coast of Natal.
11 September 1808 it captured HMS LAUREL off Ile de France and HMS DISCOVERY near to Poulo Aor.
June 1809 used in the merchant trade in Ile de France renamed Le CONFIANCE, named after the well know French privateer vessel.
13 February 1810 captured by HMS VALIANT, she was not re-added by the Royal Navy.
Fate unknown.

Source: The lost ships of the Royal Navy 1793-1900 by W.P.Gosset. British Warships in the age of sail 1793-1817 by Rif Winfield. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_fri ... 1794-1809)
http://www.ageofnelson.org/MichaelPhill ... p?ref=1503

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